Man convicted in dog torture

A man arrested after Sanford police said he tortured a daschund pleaded no contest to animal cruelty and drug charges, court records state.

Edward Storm Mochanski, 57, was barred from contact with animals when a judge accepted his plea in Seminole County Circuit Court Thursday.

Mochanski tore the toenails off of the dog and hung it with a telephone cord April 2009. The dog survived, and was found cowering beneath a chair when police arrived at his South Park Avenue home.

Photographs of the pup show three toenails that were pulled from his rear right paw. The dog's left eye was bulging, which is an injury consistent with attempted hanging, a police report states.

Mochanski was adjudicated guilty on counts of animal cruelty and possession of drug paraphernalia, both first-degree misdemeanors. He was sentenced to one year probation for each of the counts. He will serve both terms at the same time.

Mochanski must also write a 250 word essay on why it is important to care for pets.

A baggy of marijuana and pipe was found inside the house, the report states.